Lemon Tea: Sour Fruit
by BadCatGirl
Summary: Third story in the Lemon Tea series. Another misadventure thanks to Mike lands the twins and Danni in trouble, just as Kay is considering adoption.
1. Basketball

Chapter 1: Basketball

"This world cannot bring me down, because I'm already here."

Tump

Tumptump

Tumptetumptumptump

David passed the ball between his two hands, lifted up his leg, and bounced it under, catching it in the other hand.

He turned on his heel, facing the basket.

Tumptetumptump.

"I won't turn away. I won't turn around."

The ball bounced ff the rim. He ran to catch it on the rebound, dribbling it.

"I'm trying so hard."

This world will not bring me down, because I'm already here."

Tumptumptump.

David paused, catching his breath.

He dribbled faster, running up towards the basket.

"I won't Duck and Run. I won't Duck and Run. I won't Turn Away!"

He jumped, shooting the ball.

It circled on the rim, finally tipping into the basket.

"Because I'm already here!"

David Jumped, Pumping his fist into the air.

Danni and Damien sat next to the blasting boom box. The CD track changed,

"There's another world inside of me that you will never see…" Three Doors Down crooned.

Danni turned down the volume as David passed the ball to his twin, who caught it and ran onto the basketball court. David plopped down beside her and she pulled out a bottle of water from her backpack.

"I go next." She told him. Water ran down the side of David's face.

"Basketball is a boy's sport." He said.

"Nuh-uh. I can fly. I can throw a ball into a basket too if I want to."

"Whatever." David stuck his tongue out at her. Danni returned the gesture.

Damien made a shot, than ran back to the others.

"Hey Danni, you wanna try?" He asked her.

"Yup!" Danni hopped up off the ground.

"Damien, basketball is a boy's sport."

Damien stuck his tongue out at his twin. "You're just afraid she'll be better than you!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Danni skipped the CD ahead to the next song, which was one of her favorites. Kay had bought the three kids all new CDs the other day, but they had all latched onto Kay's selection.

"I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind. I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time. I took a walk to the dark side of the moon, I figure there's nothing I can do, yeah…"

Tump tump te-tump

Danni felt the weight of the ball in her hands.

"Keep bouncing it, Danni!" David yelled out to her.

Danni ran forward, bouncing the ball ahead of her.

"You call me strong you call me weak,

But still your secrets I will keep.

You took for granted all the times I never let you down.

You stumbled in and bumped your head, if not for me then you'd be dead.

I picked you and put you back on solid ground."

Danni jumped, sinking the ball through the basket effortlessly.

"I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might…Kryptonite!"

"Hey! No using your powers, Danni!" David yelled.

Danni noticed that she was floating in midair. She sunk back down to the earth.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I could do that in this form." Danni was surprised; she really hadn't meant to do that.

"Yeah right… wait, really?" David also looked surprised.

"Yeah, usually I can only use a couple of my powers when I'm in human mode."

"Maybe you're getting better." Damien suggested.

Danni shrugged.

The park was empty on Sunday mornings. Kay didn't take her sons to Church, which was a sticking point with her and the others in the community. It gave Danni and the twins the privacy to talk about her powers and ghosts openly.

Ever since the twins had found out about her powers, they had badgered her to tell them stories and to show them the stuff she could do. After they got tired of seeing small ecto-balls and her sticking her hand through David's head, they'd started using her to sneak out at night.

Flying at night with the twins hanging onto her, pointing out the sites had become a favorite pastime.

"My turn!" David jumped up, tossing his water bottle to Damien.

He leapt in front of Danni, grabbing the ball from her.

"No fair, David!" She gave chase, blocking him from a shot.

"See if you can stop me!" he stuck his tongue out at her.

Danni slapped the ball out of his hands.

Damien jumped up from the ground, running onto the court.

Danni passed it to him.

"No fair! It's two against one!" David protested.

"See if you can stop us!" Danni laughed.

The ball thumped against the ground, it's beat matching the recorded drums pounding from the CD player in the grass.

"Hey! Triple Dweebs!"

Danni, David and Damien turned to face the offending voice.

Mike Mores and his posse stood out on the edge of the basketball court. One of Mike's friends, a blonde kid with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, nudged Mike in the shoulder, whispering something to him.

"Feh, fine." He grumbled. "Look, the guys and I want… to…" Mike grimaced, fighting to get the words out.

Seeing his friend wasn't going to finish, the pony-tailed friend continued for him.

"Mike wants to know if you'd like lunch. His parents own the Calico café, so we get to eat for free."

Mike glowered at his friends.

"Sounds good." Said Damien.

"What's the catch?" Asked David, still stewing over the last time he'd done something Mike had asked.

"No catch." Ponytail promised. "And we can have pizza."

"I'm in!" said Danni, her stomach giving a loud gurgle.

David glared at her. When it came to thinking with their stomachs, Danni could give lessons to dogs.

"Two out of three," Damien said, smiling at David's defiant scowl. "Let's go."

……………..

(All songs featured here are from Three Doors Down. The lyrics are used without permission, but who cares? 3 Doors Down can count this as free advertising for their music, 'cause they rock! Wooo!)


	2. The Calico Cafe

Chapter 2:

"Kayla." A large, well-dressed woman of a well-disguised 65 years addressed the bookseller.

Kay cringed. She'd known his would come sooner or later. Mama Lemon, her mother-in-law knew everything that happened in the small town. She was the matron of the grapevine, the power behind the throne, and the veritable queen of Derytown society.

"Mama, how are your today?"

"Very well. I hear you've talked Mrs. Marks out of sending that young girl to a foster home."

Kay flinched again. Mrs. Marks had been a thorn in her side since Danni had arrived. She'd kept it hidden from the children that Marks had been inches away from dragging Danni off to an orphanage. She'd called in a favor from Officer Michaels, who'd managed to stall the social worker with a story about a lead in Wisconsin.

"Well, she's settled in so well with us, it seemed silly."

"What are you going to do when school starts?"

"I… Well… Would you like some tea?"

………….

The Calico Café was a dimly lit restaurant of great age, with high wood beamed ceilings, and gas lamps replaced with those flickering bulbs that cast firelight shadows on the walls. The smell of chicken and dumplings cooking in the kitchen set Danni's stomach to growling.

The bar was crowded with a babbling crew of grownups. They clinked their glasses and laughed. One particularly drunk man with grey creeping up his sideburns banged on the counter and stood up.

"My good friends! Good people of Derytown, a toast! A toast to our dearly departed (though they rarely have the decency to actually depart)! May they find peace sooner or later- But if not, a toast to them! For they've managed to become our livelihood! To the Dead!"

"To the Dead!" His companions cheered, clinking their glasses against each other and laughing.

"Really." Mrs. Mores shook her head as she lead the children to a long table. "It's just not right, building an economy off of morbid curiosity."

The children stared at her uncomprehending.

A disheveled woman in a light blue apron stained with red approached Mrs. Mores.

"Susan, could you take care of the children? It's getting rowdy over there." Mrs. Mores glared at the bar where the man who'd given the toast was now standing on the bar singing "We Eat People"

Susan looked down the line of kids. "Okay, what would you like today?"

"PIZZA!" The group cheered in unison.

Susan rolled her eyes.

"Hey Suze, where'd ya get that shiner?" a mohawked boy asked.

Susan touched the area tenderly.

"Never you mind that. And don't you dare say anything about it to the boss lady, got that, munchkins?" she growled at them. Susan wrote down the order and stormed off.

"The ghost got her again." Ponytail said.

"The ghost?" asked Danni.

"The ghost in the wine cellar." Ponytail answered.

"Joe!" Mike hissed.

"Dude, you know it's true!" Mohawk said, "The ghost has scared off every other waitress who has dared to go down there. And the Moreses fire anyone who complains about it."

"They say that this guy murdered someone and then killed himself in the basement." Said one of Mike's friends.

"I heard he was murdered, and can't rest until he gets justice." Said another in a hushed whisper. They all leaned in closer when Mrs. Mores glared in their direction.

"My aunt said that his girlfriend ran off with someone else and the ghost is still waiting for her to return."

"Well, my parents say it's a lot of hooey. It's just a bunch of tourist trash." Grumbled Mike. "Everyone knows ghosts aren't real."

"Explain the waitress's bruises then." Challenged David.

"I'll prove it to you. We'll go down there and you'll see." Mike said.

"How about after pizza?" Danni said as Susan laid down three large pizzas on the table in front of them.

…………..

"You know how things work in this family." Mama Lemon folded her hands on the blue and yellow checked kitchen table.

"Of course. How could I forget?" Kay stirred the tea she was reheating.

"Then you know that everything goes by me."

"Nothing in this town can happen without you knowing it." Kay sighed. "You've got the very grapevine wrapped around your little finger."

"Don't be impertinent. Now, these are my terms…"

"Wait, you're laying down terms already? What are we talking about?"

"Young Danielle. Now, we both realize they won't find her family."

"How do you-?"

"Don't interrupt."

"She'll become a ward of the state and be sent to an actual foster home. Knowing how these things tend to work, we both know they aren't the best for children. For young Danielle to avoid becoming another one tossed to the state bureaucracy, she has to be adopted."

"Huh?" Mama Lemon's whirlwind of words left Kay feeling a little breathless and confused.

"Of course, I'd want to meet her before you decide to do anything."

"If I want…" Kay hadn't even thought that far ahead. Did she want Danni around long-term?

"Tea?" she asked the older woman.

Mama leaned back, watching her daughter-in-law's face.

…………..

"Well, this is it," Mike fanned his arm out, presenting the dust-laden cellar to them. The brick walls were lined with wine shelves brimming with dusty bottles that nearly reached the ceiling. In the far corner was a wooden table and stool, with a single table leg propped up with a Harlequin novella and an uncorked wine bottle sitting half filled in the middle of the table.

"And not a ghost in sight." Mike finished with a smug smile.

"Well, that's because ghosts only come out at night. This is the middle of the day." Argued Mohawk.

"That's not true," said Damien. "People just think that because of movies."

"Whatever," Mike rolled his eyes. "Point is, there is no ghost down here. There has never been a ghost down here, and the will never BE a ghost down here, because _ghosts don't exist!"_

"GET OUUUUUUUT!!!!!" a loud voice moaned. It seemed to come out of the very walls, causing the bottles to shake in their shelf holes.

"No such thing as ghosts, huh Mike?" asked Danni.

"Oh shut up."

…………………

(You know, you either believe in ghosts or you don't, and you'll be hard pressed to ever change your mind. That last bit just popped into my head at the last minute. Every now and then I'd be right, and Mum would never forgive me.)


	3. In Trouble Again

Chapter 3: The Wine Ghost

"Run screaming out the door like a bunch of preschool girls?" Mohawk asked.

"Sounds like a plan." Muttered Ponytail, watching in awe and horror along with the rest of the children as the overburdened wine cabinets shook unnaturally. The bottles raised out of their cabinet holes and flew at the children.

The children rushed to the door. Ponytail and Mohawk ran out first, followed closely by Mike's three other friends.

Mike shoved David out of the way, scrambling for the door. A bottle hit him square in the back of the neck. He collapsed to his knees and fell forward. David shook Mike, trying to wake him.

The door slammed closed. Damien ran forward, wrestling with the doorknob and banging on the ancient hardwood door.

"It's locked! We're locked in!" He yelled over his shoulder. Danni ran up beside him. She banged on the door.

"Let us out you jerks!" She yelled.

"We're trying!" Ponytail yelled back. The doorknob jiggled as he too tried to open the door. "There's no key in the doorknob out here!"

"It's trying to get us!" Damien panicked. "It's gonna eat us!"

"It's not gonna eat you!" Danni ducked just as a bottle of red wine busted open against the wall above the door. "Get help!" she yelled.

Danni whirled around, facing the specter, which was forming in the center of the room.

The dust in the room swirled in a human-shaped vortex, solidifying into the form of a man in a long, tattered cloak.

"You wouldn't leave me be!" He moaned angrily. "You never just let me be! You're driving me crazy!" He lifted his arms and lines of wine bottles floated in midair.

"You're not hurting the guys!" Danni shouted. A band of white light appeared around her left wrist. It moved up her arm, replacing her worn blue sleeve with a white glove and black sleeve. It moved across her middle, turning her black hair white and her clothes to the two-piece outfit of Danni Phantom.

"Well, that's a new one on me." The specter muttered. "Oh well… Now leave, or we'll drink to your doom!"

"You locked us in here!" Damien protested, "We can't leave!"

"Drink to our doom?" Danni muttered. "Just how long did it take you to come up with that one?"

"Longer than it will take me to destroy you, you little harlot!"

"What's a harlot?" David asked his brother. Damien just shrugged.

The specter rose his arms above his head and the wine spilled about on the ground rose up in the air, then pummeled into Danni, slamming her against the wall.

Danni gasped, holding her mouth closed. She went intangible, sinking through the wall. On the other side she spotted Mike's friends still uselessly pulling on the doorknob. Danni phased through the wall again, barreling at the specter.

She hit dead on, slamming into his middle. She then used two green blasts to knock him away from her. He fell through the back wall.

"That'll teach you not to mess with the girl!" She said, putting her hands on her hips.

A ghostly hand reached through the wall and slapped the air. The wine cabinet nearest to the twins toppled over.

Danni flew fast, grabbing onto the twins and Mike, turning them intangible just in time for the wine cabinet to crash down on them.

The specter flew back into the room and floated over them.

"And now-"

"Michelangelo Beunorotti Mores! What is going on in there?" a voice screeched from the other side of the door.

"Oh great, the banshee." The ghost muttered. He melted into a puddle of wine howling one last "Beware!" as he disappeared.

Danni changed back to human just as Mrs. Mores unlocked the door and pulled it open, glaring at the three huddled in the destroyed wine cellar.

"Holy Hannah R! What have you little monsters done? What happened to my little boy?" She grabbed up the unconcious Mike into her arms. "I'll have the law on you! I'll sue your mother for all she's worth! I'll make sure they lock you up like the animals you are!" She howled.

Danni looked over at the twins hopelessly, who just shrugged.

……….

"Here now? What's this?"

Kay eyed the three children who had been frog-hopped into the store by Mrs. Mores, who was accompanied by Officer Michaels. Mama Lemon watched from the kitchen, her hands folded across her lap.

"You're children destroyed my wine cellar, spilled hundreds of dollars worth across he floor, and attacked my son!"

"That's not true!" Damien protested, shrugging Mrs. Mores' hand off his shoulder. "The ghost attacked him!"

"It was the ghost who knocked over the shelves!" Added Danni.

"And locked us all in the cellar!" finished David.

"Lies!" Mrs. Mores ranted, "These little beasts think they can fool me? There's no ghost!"

"Yes there is." Said Officer Michaels.

Mrs. Mores shot him a venomous look and he lowered his head.

"I'm holding you responsible for this, Kayla Lemon! You'll have to reimburse me for all the wine your children ruined!"

"Now wait a minute!" Kay said, waving her hands. "I don't see how you can prove the children did this."

"I don't have to! They were the only ones in the cellar, and it was locked from the inside."

"But the cellar only locks from the outside." Officer Michaels argued. "And don't you have the only key?"

"Yes, but… But that doesn't matter! They were the only ones there! The blame falls on them! I'll sue!"

"You'll sue my daughter-in-law and my only grandchildren?" Mama Lemon stepped out from the kitchen.

"Elzabeth Lemon!" Mrs. Mores gasped.

Danni looked up at the severe elderly woman. Despite her age, Mama Lemon had a powerful presence. Even Officer Michaels and Kay backed down.

Mrs. Mores shook like a deer in headlights, unsure of which way to move, staring wide eyed as Mama loomed over the younger woman.

"It seems like quite a bit of fuss over a bit of spilled wine. I'm sure I could talk the Lady's Club into giving you a bit to help you replace your wares. We all know how dreadful a nuisance getting a payment from insurance companies can be."

"Well, yes… yes…" Mrs. Mores stuttered. "but still, those children…"

"Kayla, Mrs. Mores believes that your children still shouldn't of been down there in the first place."

"But wasn't Mike down there with-" Kay asked, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Kayla, should the children have been in the wine cellar instead of at the park where they said they were going to be?"

"No, Mama." Kay glared at the kids. She pointed at each of them. "Grounded, Grounded, and Grounded." She said.

"What?" The three exclaimed in unison.

"No television, no basketball, no going out. You'll be stuck in the store with me and Natalie." Kay explained.

The kids groaned.

"There, the children have been punished, you'll be reimbursed, and everybody is happy." Mama Lemon said in a smug voice. "Now come, Mrs. Mores. I understand tonight you're cooking chicken and dumplings."

Mama Lemon wrapped her arm around Mrs. Mores' shoulder, leading her out.

Mama looked over her shoulder once more as they crossed the threshold.

"We'll continue this conversation later, Kayla. Come over on Saturday and bring Danni."

Kay nodded weakly.

With the other gone, Kay glared down at the children.

"To your rooms, now. We'll talk more later, when I'm less angry."

Danni ran down the stairs as the twins ran up. She set the cd player down on the floor and collapsed onto the bed.

She'd never seen Kay that mad. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd ever seen Kay mad at all.

Danni rolled over onto her back and folded her arms under her head.

It wasn't her fault! It was that stupid ghosts! He'd attacked them for no reason, just like he attacked all the waitresses. No wonder her cousin Danny was always fighting ghosts. They attacked for no reason and ruined people's lives.

She rolled over and punched the pillow.

And stupid Mrs. Mores! She knew it was the ghost's fault. She just had to! Everybody else knew about the ghosts, but Mrs. Mores preferred to blame her! And now Kay was mad at her and would probably send her away.

Danni pushed her face into the soft pillow, biting it, tears rolling down her face. She'd just been trying to do the right thing, fight the ghost, protect the twins, and be a hero… but now? She just didn't know what would happen.

………..


	4. Knowing What to Do

Chapter 4: Knowing what to do

Kay couldn't sleep. She rolled over and stared at the bed stand in the dark. It was no good trying to sleep. Her mind kept playing tricks on her. She was either thinking finances, about Brian, imagining the kids being accosted by evil spirits, or about Danni's adoption. That was sticking in her craw the most. Why hadn't she considered it before? Danni had, after all, become part of the family, just as quickly as Natalie had when she first came.

Kay sat up. She turned on the light, blinking, and picked up the phone.

Kay hit a worn speed-dial button and listened to it ring.

A groggy voice moaned over the line.

"It's one A.M. Kayla Lemon, this better be good."

"Should I adopt Danni, Natalie?"

"You called me at one in the morning to ask me that?"

"I'm really not sure? What if they find her parents? What if she doesn't want to join the family? How can I support a third child? What if Mama decides she doesn't want Danni as a grandchild?"

"Kay, you're 36. Figure it out for yourself. Goodnight."

"Wait, Nat, please. I don't have anyone else I can talk about this with."

Natalie sighed audibly. Kay could hear the rustling of Natalie's bed-sheets as she sat up.

"Why don't you talk about it with Danni? Really, if you're considering adopting her, she should at least know what's coming."

"Brian would have known what to do." Kay sighed mournfully.

"Brian's dead. He can't make decisions for you anymore. And anyways, you've done a pretty good job up to now, I'm sure you can figure it out. I'll see you in the morning."

"But Nat-"

"Goodnight Kay." The line clicked off.

Kay sighed, hanging up the receiver.

"Brian would have known… but then, so would Batman." She muttered to herself, a slight smile growing. "When in doubt, consult Hollywood." She kidded, scanning her dvd collection.

………

Danni woke up with a start. Rubbing her eyes, she turned on her light. Danni scanned the room. There was no one there. Her bed felt slightly damp. Startled, Danni leapt out of bed. She felt it. It was cold sweat, not ooze. Danni sighed in relief.

She crawled back under her quilt and hugged her stuffed dog.

She couldn't sleep. She could barely relax. She wouldn't call herself a scaredy-cat, but the dream had shaken something deep down inside her. She buried her face in soft plush, smelling the fur.

She'd dreamed she'd been all alone in the house, which had grown larger and more maze-like as she had walked, searching for the others. The walls had been lined with portraits. Mrs. Mores, Mrs. Marks, and other townspeople were all portrayed there. Finally at the end of the hall was a full-length portrait of Vlad Masters, which smiled condescendingly at her. Then it was Vlad Plasmius, who glared at her murderously, but then he in turn melted away, leaving the featureless face of the Bishop. She finally looked down at the floor and found it covered in green ectoplasmic goo.

Danni shivered, remembering the dream. Kay would probably say that it had to do with repressed memories or Danni's fears. It didn't take Danni a book to figure that out though.

Danni sighed, rolling back out of bed. Kay had always sworn up and down that a warm drink was the best thing after a nightmare.

Danni felt her way up the stairs to the kitchen.

She shuffled through the refrigerator, finding cheese, soda, milk, mayonnaise, more soda, leftover pasta, a package of jello-cups…

"Danni, what are you doing up?"

Danni gave a small shriek of surprise. She turned to find Kay standing next to the stairs leading to the second floor.

"I couldn't sleep."

Kay eyes the can of soda in Danni's hand.

"Well, if you're looking to sleep, that Bubba Cola won't do you any good. I'll warm up a cup of tea for you. Sit down."

Danni obeyed, pulling up a chair to the kitchen table. Kay poured some tea out from a pitcher into a cup and slid it into the microwave, yawning.

Unable to bear the silence anymore, Danni spoke.

"Are you still mad?"

"No, but you're still grounded."

"I'm sorry."

"Pssh, just don't go messing around where you have no business and you won't get in trouble, Danni." The microwave dinged and Kay handed Danni the cup and a saucer.

"Who was that lady today, the one in the kitchen?" Danni asked. Kay sat down beside her.

"She's the boys' grandmother and my mother-in-law. She wanted to meet you."

"Why?"

"She wanted to get to know you."

"Why?"

"Danni, must you act like the twins?"

"Yes." Danni smirked, sipping the tea, welcoming the warmth it spread through her stomach.

Kay sighed, shaking her head slightly.

"Danni what happened to your parents?"

Danni coughed, choking on the ea.

"What?"

"Sweety, they still haven't found a shred of your past, and honestly, we're all about to give up on ever finding anything."

They were wasting their time, Danni thought. It wasn't like Vlad had gone out and filled out a birth certificate fpr her.

"So we're looking for a more permanent situation for you. But before I go any further down this line of thought; your parent's aren't going to suddenly show up on my doorstep looking for you, are they?"

"I really doubt it." Danni mumbled.

Kay rubbed her temples. It really was never any good asking the girl about her past. She would always clam up and stare at something on the ground.

"Well then, Mama and I were wondering if you'd like to stay here and become part of the Lemon family. You know, become a Lemon yourself."

"Really?" Danni brightened, then giggled.

"Oh you know what I mean. Of course you'll have to show Mama that you're a good girl. Nothing happens in this town without her knowledge or approval."

Danni nodded, not completely comprehending.

"So on Saturday we'll go and visit her, you'll be on your very best behavior, and she'll see that you're a wonderful little lady… when you're not chasing ghosts in wine cellars." Kay wagged her finger at Danni in mock chastisement. Danni gave a guilty little smile.

"So you really aren't mad about that?"

"Sweety, don't you know by now that I can't stay mad?" Kay gave Danni a hug, which the girl returned, pressing herself into Kay's warm arms. Kay smiled, resting her cheek on Danni's head.

Danni looked up at Kay.

"I don't think I can go to sleep now! I just-"

"I know, there's a lot to think about, a lot to figure out, but you know what will cure our insomnia for the moment?"

"Lemon Tea?"

"That, and massive explosions!"

"What?"

"Kid, I've got a Batman movie and I'm ready to use it!"

"I thought I was grounded?"

"Meh, we'll start your punishment in the morning… Just don't tell the twins."

…..

The secret was not well-kept, however. David and Damien found the two fat asleep on the upstairs couch the next morning, covered in a quilt with popcorn spilled across the floor and two cups of tea conjealing on the coffee table.

"Secret Ben & Jerry's stash in the basement?" David asked his twin.

"Secret Ben & Jerry's stash." Damien agreed, grinning. The two sneaked downstairs for a breakfast that wouldn't win any parental seals of approval.


	5. To Grandmother's House

Chapter Five: The Lemon Family Home

"Come on Danni, at least try it on!"

"No! I'm drawing the line! No! No! NO!!!"

"Look, it's just for the day and I'll never ask again! (Maybe.)"

"I'm not wearing it!"

Natalie looked at the twins who both had their ears pressed to the floor of the store, snickering at the loud exchange carrying on below.

"You two don't get it," She told them, receiving an identical pair of dirty looks. "You were born into the Lemon family. The rest of us, whether we want a job, a marriage, or just an invite to a party have to make a good impression on your grandmother."

"Oh come on, Nana isn't all that bad." Damien protested.

"Oh yeah?" David argued. "You've never been on the wrong side of one of her spankings." He rubbed his rear. "I'm still sore from tat one in preschool."

"Well, you did cause Mrs. Marks' parakeet to commit suicide in Nana's living room."

"No I didn't! That stupid bird flew right into that window!"

"You can't make me! You'll never take me alive! I'll die before I wear that!" Danni ran out of the stairwell into the kitchen, clinging onto her shorts. She then escaped to the second floor as Kay followed from the basement.

"Oh come on, it's just a dress! It's not even pink!" Kay waved the dress, which really wasn't that bad for the fuss that was being made.

"Danielle ….. Oh! Erg…?" Kay suddenly stopped in confusion, realizing she didn't have a middle and last name to add to that. She looked over at the twins and Natalie in confusion, shrugged, and ran up the stairs after Danni. "You're wearing this dress if I have to hogtie you with it!"

………

Don't Sulk, Danni, it's not very becoming of a young lady." Kay scolded the girl in the slightly rumpled yet nonetheless triumphant blue dress.

"How about basketball, playing in the dirt, or wrestling?" Danni pouted.

"Nor are those, but I'm only asking you to be a little lady for Mama- I personally don't give a flip this way or that about ladylike behavior." Kay responded. She wasn't any bit happier about having to wear a dress. "But Mama likes it when we dress up nicely to meet her in her house. So be on your best behavior. Strike that, be on _good_ behavior."

Danni stuck out her tongue at Kay.

"Na-ah-ah!" Kay wagged her finger at Danni. "Keep sticking your tongue out and a bird will mistake it for a big fat worm and carry it off!"

"No it won't!" Danni said, quickly pulling her tongue back in.

"Are you so sure?" Kay smirked at the child's reaction.

"Kayla Lemon in a dress? You must be headed to Mama Lemon's!" Danni recognized the man strolling up to meet them as the one who'd made the drunken toast at the Calico the other day.

"You know me far too well Vin… I may have to have you eliminated." Kay answered in a sarcastic tone.

"Vin?" Danni asked Kay.

"Danni, this is Vincent Pierce, Vin to the rest of us. He runs the local historical society and is the power behind the throne of the ghost hunter society here."

"And this must be the mysterious Danielle." Vin said, offering his hand to Danni. She shook it, giving him a critical look.

"You've got a good grip, kid. That means you've got a strong character."

Danni blushed a little and slipped her hands behind her back.

"Where are you off to, Vin?" Kay asked him.

"I'm just coming back from your mother-in-law's. She's renewing her support for the museum."

"There was no question of it. Mama likes to play hard to get, but she believes in the museum… 'Specially after you added that huge portrait of her father."

Vin laughed.

"Well, he _was_ a very prominent figure in our town. Mayor, benefactor…"

"Pompous, arrogant aristocrat… I met him shortly before he died. You don't see me shedding any tears over his passing."

"He could be a bit of a Machiavelli, and so can your mother-in-law."

"That said, we need to get moving. She's expecting us." Kay said, checking her watch.

"Good luck, Kay. And you too, Danni." Vin tipped his hat to the two and continued own the street.

"What's a Mechavelly?" Danni finally asked as she followed Kay.

"A Machiavelli? Oh, it's just a term Vin and I have for people who tend to be ruthless. I don't know if anyone else uses it."

"Oh." Danni thought that over for a moment. "What's ruthless mean?"

Kay sighed and rolled her eyes to the sky.

"We'll commune with a copy of Websters later, kiddo. We're there."

Danni was too busy staring at the intimidating whitewashed house before them to ask what "commune" meant. The Lemon family home had nothing over Vlad's castle for sheer size, but it still managed to dominate the street with pure upright respectability and clean style. At the same time, moss-shrouded trees obscured its edges, leaving its true dimensions a mystery to passersby.

Kay reached through the iron bars of the imposing fence and unlatched the gate, opening it to Danni.

As she walked up to the porch, Danni was reminded vividly of the Carter Family Mansion, with its vine-covered walls. The vines hadn't completely overtaken this house though, but they were creeping up the columns supporting the overhang above the porch, which stretched out to the edges of the house, then wrapped around the sides.

Looking up, she could see a figure in the highest window, watching their approach.

Kay rang the bell next to the screen door.

The inner door opened and Mama greeted the two.

"Kayla, Danielle, welcome. I've been waiting for you."

Danni stared up at her in surprise.

"How'd you get down here so fast?" she asked.

Mama looked confused for a moment. "I've been downstairs the whole time."

"But there was someone in the window?" Danni pointed upwards through the overhang.

"Ah, you must have seen my father. He likes to observe the comings and goings of the house. Please, come in. I'll serve some tea."  
"But I thought…" Danni paused, thinking about that. "Oh."

………

The sitting room which Mama lead them to was pristine and filled with the summer sunshine. In about an hour the sky would cloud over, pour down a torrent of rain, then dissipate in a matter of minutes, leaving the day just as bright as it had found it.

Danni was afraid to move lest she should knock over a porcelin figure or dirty the ivory-colored sofa. The lace tablecloth on the coffee-table was so fine and delicate Danni found it a wonder that it didn't disintegrate like a sugar statue.

Mama sat across from Kay and Danni, watching them closely over the china teacup. Danni and Kay both sipped their own tea in an uncomfortable silence. Danni cringed here and there as Kay softly corrected her stance and the way she held the cup. Mam kept a critical eye on the two of them, as if giving and taking points for each sip.

Finally with their tea down to the last dregs lumped at the bottom, Mama stood, serving them all another cup.

"Now Danielle," Mama began, "How are you liking Derytown?" Danni heard Kay heave a great sigh of relief, which caused a small smirk to creep across Mama's lips.

"I like it. David and Damien have been showing me around."

"The twins are good ones to show you around. They know every shortcut to trouble in town." Mama and Kay shared a look. "My grandsons are famous troublemakers around here."

"It's not their fault!" Danni defended the brothers. "Mike is always-"

"It's not good blaming the Mores boy. The twins are more than capable of getting into messes without young Michael giving them ideas and goading them on."

Kay gave a sheepish smile as Mama turned a glare at her.

"I could probably blame it on their upbringing. Young boys need a strong hand at discipline. Of course, my own sons had a tendency to get into trouble too, strong hand or no, so I suppose to a certain extent it's just the Lemon men's way."

"Here, here." Kay muttered with a smirk, taking another sip.

"Kayla, could you fetch me some more tea?"

"Just how much are we going to need for this?" Kay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kayla."

"Right, right, I'm going… If I can remember where the heck the kitchen is." Kay got up and exited into the hallway, turned right, poked her head through a doorway, realized it was the wrong one, then remembered the way, turning right.

Danni and Mama watched her go, Danni suppressing a giggle and Mama covering up her amusement with another sip of tea.

"Now Danielle, we can talk seriously."

……………


	6. Storms

Chapter 6: Storms

"Now we can get down to business." Mama folded her hands on her lap and leaned forward, a critical interviewer as ever.

Danni wasn't sure how to respond to that. The prime moment passed and Mama continued.

"It is my duty to protect my family, even from themselves."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"I didn't just fall off the cabbage wagon. Nobody here believes your story about amnesia. Children don't just spontaneously appear out of thin air and land on the doorsteps of potential heiresses."

"Wait, you mean Kay is-"

"Don't interrupt!" Mama barked. "You're too well-fed and healthy to be homeless. Kayla may have instantly opened her arms to you, but I'm not so naïve. Now I want you to answer me honestly- Who are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?"

"I- I don't know." The questions came like punches.

"Who are your parents?"

"I don't know!"

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not! There's nothing! No one! _I'm_ no one!" Danni clasped her hands to her ears, shaking her head violently and rocking back and forth.

"Mama!" Kay yelled from down the hall. "Don't scare the poor girl!"

Mama looked over Danni's head to see peeking out from the kitchen. Danni opened her yes to see a cryptic smile on Mama's face.

Mama settled back into her chair and Kay pulled her head back into the kitchen.

Danni almost wished for the earlier silence when Kay had been sitting next to her.

"So you won't tell me? Or is it that you can't? It is odd that they never found anything on you. A cute little girl like you, I would think that someone is sorely missing you, at least enough to file a missing person's report. And I understand they've spread your picture around. I find it incredibly _suspicious_ that no one has come forward with any information."

Danni's brow furrowed. She would like to see "dear old Dad" once again, but not anytime soon. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

"Of course if you're adopted and they find your family you'll go back with them. I'll see to it personally. Of course poor Kayla would be heart-broken," Mama clasped a hand to her heart in mock sympathy, "First a husband and then an adopted daughter? I don't know how she'd manage a second loss."

"Why is it so important to know where I came from? Who made me?"

"It defines who you are."

"No it doesn't!" Danni lurched to her feet.

Mama didn't say a word, just watched the girl self-consciously sit back down.

"No, it doesn't." Mama finally agreed.

Danni could almost feel her planning her next move. She could feel her sizing Danni up, trying to find another soft spot, like Danni hadn't already thrown it at her.

"Mama! Get over here!" Kay called from down the hall.

"What is it? Did you set the ceiling on fire again?" Mama asked, getting up.

"That was eight years ago! It wasn't my fault!" Kay protested as Mama joined her in the kitchen, leaving Danni alone in the sitting room.

………

"What is it?" Mama asked Kay, giving her the death glare. "Are you trying to protect the fragile little child from the big bad grandma?"

"Danni's not fragile. And from the yelling it seems she can easily learn to stand up to you."

"Then what is it?"

Kay flipped on the sound on the small television under the cabinet.

"Grey's Anatomy is on."

Mama gave Kay a loving smile,.

"You know me far too well. I may have to have you eliminated."

…..

"Bye Bye baby, don't be long.

I worry about you when you're gone." Danni hummed to herself, clasping her hands behind her neck and putting her shoes up on the coffee table. Getting bored, she got up and paced the room. Whatever Kay and Mama were talking about, they were taking their own sweet time at it.

Mama didn't like her. She was sure of it. And what was with all that digging… Did she know something?

……..

"Wait, she's pregnant now? Which season is this?"

"I think it's season three."

"I've missed a season then."

"I've got it on DVD."

"And to think, I told my son not to marry you…"

……..

Danni wandered down the hall. The pale colors of the walls fed like an extension from the sitting room. Danni spotted a narrow staircase. The stairs creaked ominously underneath her feet. Danni could feel her pulse rising. She gripped the rail tightly with both hands. A cold chill swept down her back and a stream of blue breath escaped her lips. The staircase tipped downward and Danni felt two cold hands clasp down on her chest. Danni squeezed onto the rail, pulling herself close to the wall. Looking up, the top of the stairs disappeared into the distance, downward the ground fell into the void.. Danni clenched her eyes shut and transformed. A white band of light wiped away the blue dress, leaving Danni in her white-haired Phantom persona.

She floated up over the stairs and flew to the second floor. Looking down, she found that the earth had returned to its rightful place.

What was that? She'd never felt anything like that, like she was falling with her feet on the ground. Had it been a ghost? Her ghost sense had gone off, but no butler had appeared waving an ax, no drunk flew through the wall wailing to be left alone.. Not even an errant bed sheet could be seen.

She reverted to her human self. Whatever it was, it was gone.

………..

"Oh, No! Tell me she didn't go back to the cute idiot doctor again!"

"What do they call him, McDreamy?"

"McSteamy now."

"It's rather fitting."

"Good to know an older woman can still enjoy the finer things in life."

"Good to see a young widow can still get ideas."

"Don't start-"

"You've met plenty of young men. Why do you think I have all those parties."

"Here I thought you enjoyed the attention. Turns out you're trying to get rid of me!"

"How about that one you were entertaining the Christmas before last?"

"At your request…"

"An older man, intelligent, wealthy, available…"

"Creepy, obsessive and an excellent business connection for you."

"Well if you're adding on to your family, don't you think it's time to add a new husband to the mix?"

"AHA! So you're going to go ahead with helping me adopt Danni?"

"I'm just worried how a single parent can raise so many children… that is, if you _do_ adopt the child."

"You act as if I have any real choice in the matter."

"So, do you think McSteamy will stick with her this time?"

"According to their sparkling track record?"

……….

So this was the Lemon family. Danni walked down the second story hallway, which eerily matched the hallway in her nightmares. Apprehension rose as she passed the portraits of past members, all glaring, staring, and judging. That is, the larger portraits were, smaller ones of the less important members smiled blithely from their canvases, assuring Danni that not all of the members were angry and scornful. As she approached the end of the hall she held her breath, remembering the end of her dream. But once she got closer she let it go. The man smiling from the frame had a soft, kind face. She touched the plaque softly, reading the name.

"Brian Lemon."

Underneath the portrait was a small table, holding a small mass of photos. They were all candid shots, both sweet and silly, of Brian and his friends and family, including Kay and Mama. One shot even showed the two women with strained smiles, Brian oblivious of the tension between the two.

She wished that she could have known him. She wondered how it would be between them. No lies, no power games, just father and daughter, loving each other no matter what. Danni broke off that train of thought as she felt the beginnings of angry tears build up.

There was thunder n the distance. The daily storm was on its way.

…….

"Danni?" Kay called out, searching tearing apart the sitting room as she desperately searched for the girl.

"Kayla, she's not under the sofa. She must have gone to the bathroom."

"What did you say to her?"

"I asked her about her parents."

"Danni hates it whenever someone asks about her past, Mama. You shouldn't have."

"And why is that, Kayla? What is it she's so desperate to hide? Children don't just spontaneously show up on doorsteps. "

"This one did!"

"So you blithely open your home to her? No questions, just welcome to the family?"

"I have asked! There's been barely a day I haven't tried to find out her whole name, where she came from, how she got here! But there are never any answers! And you were the first one to mention adoption!"

"You're the one who wouldn't let child services to its job."

"And you supported me!"

"That doesn't mean I'm not concerned. It's just that you weren't willing to look at the long term until I brought it up."

"What is it you want out of me?"

"What do you want?"

"Stop it! Stop playing games!" Kay clasped her hair, clenching her teeth, "I love this kid! I do want her as part of my family! And yes, I do want to know about her past, but I'm not about to scare it out of her or trick her into spilling. I just want her to trust me enough to tell me what happened!"

"What do you think happened?"

Kay sighed, catching her breath.

"I don't know. Someone hurt her, she ran away. And whoever it was didn't care enough to file a missing person's report, but did enough to clothe and feed her. She might have even lived on the streets for a while."

"But she doesn't want to talk about it."

"Or can't. Whatever it is, it's painful. Sometimes.. sometimes it's like she's a hundred miles away, and she's about to cry. But she loves the twins, and they're devoted to her. She's happy here. I want her to stay happy. I want her to stay with us."

"Well, we can't do a thing until we find her… Search the bathrooms."

…..

"Danni? Danni!"

Danni looked up from the photos she'd been studying. Kay rushed to the end of the hall and gave her a hug.

"Sweetie, you scared me!"

"Sorry, I got bored waiting."

"We were gone for some time. I'm sorry about that."

Mama stared at the large portrait of her eldest son, then down at Kay, who was releasing a squashed Danni from her hug.

"Kayla, you need to get back to the store. Natalie and the boys will be waiting."

"It's pouring!" Kay protested.

"It will clear up soon enough."

Kay rolled her eyes and took Danni by the hand, following Mama.

Danni noted that nothing happened as they climbed down the stairs this time. Not that she'd been scared… well, maybe a little.

Mama scooted them out the door into the rain without another word. Within seconds they were both completely soaked.

"Am I gonna get adopted?" Danni asked as they dodged a large puddle and scrambled for shelter under a large, twisted tree.

Kay searched desperately for an answer. Mama hadn't said a thing to make her really think she was for or against it. Mama liked playing close to the chest, which Kay had noted while playing cards with her and otherwise.

"I wouldn't worry about it." She lied. She was worried.

"I don't think she likes me."

There had to be an honest, reassuring reply to that somewhere.

"Mama is… slow to trust people. You know, when I first met her, she said some... _unkind_ things to me." Yeah, that was honest, an understatement, but honest. "I was young and silly, and she was trying to protect her son. Once she got to know me better, she was more accepting."

"But you wouldn't hurt him, would you?"

"She didn't know that."

"So you'll adopt me anyway? Even if she says no?" Danni asked hopefully.

Kay didn't care to explain that eloping several states over was incredibly easy compared to adopting anyone anywhere. "I'll try."

"But she can stop it." Danni finished for Kay. "I got in trouble, and now she thinks I'm bad. I can't tell her who I am, so she thinks I'm a liar."

"That's not it, Danni-"

"Yes it is!" Danni broke free, running towards the bookstore.

Kay pulled up her skirt to chase after her, her shoes slashing in the rivers of rainwater.

…..

Natalie looked up from the price list she'd been checking to see Danni storm past her, her face turning red from anger. Kay ran in shortly after her.

"Am I to guess how it went?" Natalie asked dryly. The twins poked their heads out from behind the bookcase they'd been told to straighten.

"Sometimes I really hate that woman." Kay groaned.

…….

(Author's notes: It is funny how a story takes a life of it's own as you go along. This really isn't exactly what I had planned on focusing on, but I can see it coming together in my head.


	7. Misplaced Aggression

Chapter 7: Misplaced Agression

"What do you want now?" The ghost didn't even turn his head. He'd felt her coming even before she'd blasted the bottle out of his hand.

"I'm gonna make sure you don't ever hurt anyone again!" Danni said, righteousness and anger rising in her chest.

"If it's about the tab, I'm good for it."

"The tab?" Danni asked, confused now.

"Just let me drink in peace, Abigail."

"My name's not Abigail, its Danni."

He finally turned to look at her. Danni was surprised at how young he looked. Aside from the beginnings of a grizzled beard and the dark circles under his eyes, he couldn't have been more than twenty. Under his long, tattered cloak, his clothes were distinctly colonial. He had to be one of the earliest ghosts in Derytown.

"Hmmph. What happened to Abigail?"

"Don't you remember me? We fought a couple of days ago."

"No. Are you replacing Abigail?"

"I don't even know who that is."

"Everyone knows Abigail. Barmaid, kinda scrawny."

"Is she another ghost?"

"A ghost?"

"You know, like you."

"I'm the one drunk, why are you talking nonsense?"

"Jus the other day you were floating around the room and making bottles fly through the air!"

"Go away." He slumped over the table, burying his face in his arms.

Danni floated over to him, landing softly on the ground. He lifted an eye to glare at her.

"So he's touched you too." The Wine ghost stared at the shoulder where The Bishop had grabbed Danni back in the Mansion. She self-consciously lifted a hand to cover it.

"Strange, I've seen so many he's touched, but none like you. Why are you different? What is about you?" The ghost gave her a critical look, like something had awakened in him, then died again. He lowered hs head back into his arms.

"You know the Bishop?"

The ghost sprung from his seat violently, glowing red.

"FALSE PRIEST!!" His voice boomed, causing the remaining bottles to rattle in their cabinets. "Murderer! Liar! Hellhound!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?" Mrs. Marks voice rang from the upstairs.

"Hide." The ghost warned meekly, turning invisible. Danni did the same just as Mrs. Marks burst in, complete with hair curlers and an oversized flannel nightgown.

"Damn ghosts… Keep it down in here or you'll wake more than the dead!"

The gave the door an authoritative slam and locked it behind her.

The two listened for her footsteps to cease upstairs before turning visible again.

The wine ghost lowered himself back to his stool, staring at the wood grain blankly.

"He's dead. I saw them hang him. I_ helped _them hang him. We buried him at the crossroads- so why- why does he haunt me still?"

Danni suspected he was no longer speaking to her.

She floated down next to the table with him.

"He's a ghost," she told him," That's why he's still here. He's a ghost like you and me."

"A ghost?" The Wine Ghost's brow furrowed, looking at her again. "I wish- no, he's a devil, a demon. He's no mere shade. He's a tormentor, a murderer, a destroyer- he tainted this land- the people- the town- everything grows from the blood he spilled. Sarah, forgive me."

"What happened? What do you have to do with The Bishop?"

"It seems like everyone wants the story these days. I prayed I may die before someone asked again-"

"-You _are_ dead-"

"But it seems god has deemed it my fate to repeat it once more." The Wine Ghost lifted a hand. It glowed red and a bottle of wine floated into his palm. The cork popped off as if by itself and the ghost took a swig. He offered it to Danni, who shook her head no. The ghost shrugged and began his story.

"It was many years ago when my sister and I boarded a ship set for the New World…"

……..

(Yeah, it's pretty short, but it's leading up into some real meat. I'll see y'all after finals."


	8. The Wine Ghost's Tale Pt1

30/10/2006 10:37:00

(It's Alive!!!!)

Chapter 8: The Wine Ghost's Tale; Pt. 1

"Though I suppose it really started when my sister grew ill. For us, at least.

Sarah and I were orphans, and indentured to a rising family attempting to raise fruit crops in the newly formed Derytown.

Sarah could no longer continue working the orchards every day in the harsh sun and choking humidity, so our master transferred her debt to the local parson, a grandfatherly gentleman of fifty years. His wife had recently died, he had no children and needed help around the home. I seemed like the perfect solution for us except for one thing.

"I don't want to go!"

"Now Sarah," I repeated for the fifth time that day, "You want to get better, don't you? You'll be able to stay out of the sun and rest more. Have I ever lead you wrong?"

"You told me I wouldn't get sick on the boat."

I gave a wry smile. I had meant scurvy or something bd like that,not seasickness.

"But I was right about the colonies, wasn't I?"

"It's pretty."

"And when you weren't sick you said you liked working."

"It wasn't terrible." She gave me a piercing look, which I just laughed off. Sarah had never been fond of change, but I'd always been able to talk her into new things before.

"Well, you'll love Reverend Williams. He promised that after the day's work he would sit down and teach you to read." Her eyes sparkled as she squealed and gave me a flying hug. I admit I was a little jealous. We'd grown up poor in London. Our parents had scraped to provide what they could, and surviving had left little time for bible studies or reading. Sarah had always been a clever girl, always joking, making dolls from scraps she'd found, and surprising our parents with her wit and wisdom.

And after our parents died I'd promised I'd take care of her and make sure she got the life she deserved.

I kissed her on the forehead and lifted her up by her waist into the air, causing her to squeal with delight.

"Fly little Angel! Fly!" I laughed as she flapped her arms and giggled.

I lowered her into the back of Reverend Williams' cart.

"Aww," Sarah moaned. She gave me a sad look and I kissed her again.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again, and you'll like Rev. Williams. I promise."

She gave me a small, hopeful smile as Williams snapped his reigns and his weathered old horse pulled the last of my family down the worn trail under the dense, moss draped forest and out of my sight.

…….

According to town gossip, Rev, Williams was as good as his word, and my sister did well under his roof.

I saw her from time to time when I could make it to the simple church in the town square on Sundays. We would sit in the back pew, somberly listening to Rev. Williams' sermons. Or we would sleep through them, depending on our moods. He had an easy, conversational tone and a gentle voice. He preferred to read stories from the bible then discuss what they meant to our sleepy little town.

He was a good man, respected, and the sort you would go to for wise counsel. He was kind to my sister and patient as she slowly recovered her strength. He was confident that if a person was god in their heart and strived to be good in their actions, then god would lead them through.

Which was why everyone was devastated when one night he passed away.

"He was fine last night!" Sarah sobbed, soaking my the front of my shirt with tears. "He was writing and mumbling over his bible when I went to bed, and when I got up this morning he was-" her voice broke off into more sobs.

"It is strange," the doctor agreed. "He hadn't been ill or anything. But then, sometimes God just calls us away without any warning."

I nodded dimly as I patted Sarah's head.

"And he was getting on in years," Phillip Lemon, my master's eldest son agreed.

Williams was carried out the front door, a sheet draped caringly over his body. The Doctor had closed his eyes, Lemon had placed two coins on them, and I had tied his jaw shut with a piece of fabric, all according to our own traditions.

"He was a good man." Lemon said for the third time that morning. "I'll see to it that he gets the burial he deserves. It's the least I can do for all the things he's done for my family."

"For all our families." I added.

"But what will we do without a minister?" asked another man." who will perform the marriages? The Funerals? The Baptisms?"

"He- he said he had an old friend coming to visit," Sarah sniffed, pulling her face out of my shirt. "A fellow minister. They were going to talk about some things they'd noticed and trade ideas."

"Well, that's fortunate. If he was a friend of Williams then he'd be a fine replacement." Lemon said.

Sarah let loose another howling sob and buried her face in my shirt again.

"Not that anyone could ever replace him!" Lemon raised his hands in front of his defensively, trying to calm her.

"No one can replace him." I said, "But don't cry for him too much. Remember, he's gone on to a better place- and a well-deserved rest after all his years of good works."

She gave a weak smile and hugged me a little tighter.

"When is this friend supposed to arrive?" the doctor asked.

"About a week from now." She said, still hanging onto me.

"Well, you can stay with your brother and us until we find you another position." Lemon offered. "And we'll start making preparations for Williams' funeral. I'm sure his friend will want to pay his respects."

……..

It wasn't a week later when the friend arrived, but the very next day. He arrived early, before the sun had quite peeked out from beneath the trees, a strange fog pulling out as he strode into town. The brim of his dark hat was pulled low over his eyes, and he carried no cases.

And if I'd known what tragedies his arrival foretold for us all, I would have shot him dead then and there."

………

(I apologize sincerely for how freakin' long this took. Yeah, so we're changing gears now. In case you've forgotten the last chapter, this is the Wine Ghost telling the story of how he met the Bishop.)


	9. The Wine Ghost's Tale Pt2

30/10/2006 11:37:00

Ch 9: Pt 2

"Another night of fog' my companion muttered to no one in particular.

The unnaturally dense fog had wrapped itself around the trees like a death shroud.

"Strange how we never had a fog like this before Rev. Jerome came." I responded, not attempting to mask the bitterness in my throat.

"Why so angry, Gregory? He's done nothing wrong."

Has he? He's been terrible to Sarah, hetold Mr. Micheals that his wife's cat was a demonic familiar, he refused to marry Samuals to that pretty girl from the next town over, and he told Davidson that it was no good giving him his last rites- he was going to hell anyway."

"No offense, but your sister has been a little strange since Rev. Williams died."

"Since Rev. Jerome arrived, you mean."

"He arrived the day after Williams' death. You can't blame him for everything."

"He arrived a week before he was expected, and this fog came with him."

"What exactly are you saying?"

"That there's something not right about him."

My companion simply shook his head and let the conversation die. We both waited in silence, guns pointing into the fog, threatening it should it creep any closer in on us.

We had been sent out to find and kill whatever had been killing the livestock. Pigs, hens, cattle, even the masters best hounds had been found partially devoured. If it wasn't killed soon, the townspeople feared for their children.

It had also arrived shortly after the reverend had, though I didn't bring up this point with my companion. My sister's stories of his unkindness, told in whispers behind the chapel, coupled with his stories of hell and sinners, and the strange things that had been happening of late had made me incredibly suspicious.

A twig cracked in the fog, causing my companion and I to start. It took every ounce of control I had to not fire my round into the uncompromising mist. The moment passed and my companion lowered his gun and cracked a smile, as if he were about to say something.

The beast burst from the mist, its teeth and claws bared. It hit my companion fully in the neck and chest, knocking him down and ripping out his throat in a single, fluid motion.

I yelled in shock and fired straight into the back of its head. The impact barely even broke its concentration as it continued to rip apart my companion's still flailing body.

I yelled at it, hitting it with the butt of my rifle. It turned and snarled, blood and gore still oozing from its fangs. I swung my rifle again, hitting it across the snout. It growled and leapt at me.

I managed to shove the barrel of my rifle sideways into it's razor-filled maw as it hit me and knocked me to the ground.

My arms burned with the effort to keep it away from my throat. A stream of saliva dropped down from it's mouth and rolled down my cheek.

In desperation I threw my knee up into it's stomach. The beast howled, backing off of me. I rolled onto my hands and knees, sprung to my feet, and ran blindly into the mist. The beast howled with rage behind me.

I could barely see a foot in front of me as I ran. I hit a tree with my shoulder and was spent spinning to the round.

I hears the creature's growl. It was practically on top of me.

I scrambled to my feet again, and this time I tripped over something soft. I turned to see what it was. My blood froze in my veins.

Sarah lay bloody and broken on the soft, muddy ground. Her face was swollen with bruises and caked with blood. When I looked closer I realized that someone had sewn her mouth shut. Her belly and chest had had been cut open and her insides hollowed out and her throat had been slit.

I gagged, then pulled her tiny, mutilated form to my chest.

I sobbed and screamed into the air, praying for it not to be real, that it be another child, a dream, or some horrible fantasy. Anything for her to be alive. I cried out to God. I begged him. I cursed him.

The only answer to my cries was a familiar growl behind me.

I realized too late that I had dropped my rifle in my frenzy to escape.

I was running again before I could think about it. I'd dropped Sarah when I heard it again, I cursed myself for leaving her behind.

My foot splashed when it hit water. I stopped, looking around to figure out where I was, but the smell of salt told me I had wandered into the bayou.

If the beast didn't get me, the quicksand and gators would.

I swallowed. My heart hammered against my chest.

I strained my ears for the sound of the beast's footfalls or the splash of an approaching gator.

I closed my eyes, breathlessly chanting prayers.

I don't know how long I stood there, a foot in two dangers, slowly going mad with fear and anticipation.

The mist was slowly retreating as the sun awoke to burn away the shadows.

I was pulling my foot out of the muck when the beast burst out of the fog one more time.

I threw my arms up in front of my face and closed my eyes.

Nothing happened,

I opened my eyes and lowered my arms. The fog was back among the tress and dying. The morning's light had broken through the leaves and darted about the ground in golden shards.

I pulled my foot out of the mud. I was lightheaded and unsure. I felt as if I had come out of a nightmare, but wasn't quite awake yet.

It was in this state that I wandered back into town. I was greeted by a bizarre mixture of suspicion, fear, and confusion.

I saw the doctor, Master Lemon, and Rev. Jerome standing by a cart. In it, with his head laying a few inches from his neck and face staring up at me in a blank scream was my companion. Just as dead as I had left him. Rev. Jerome covered his face with a piece of cloth.

And darkness finally prevailed.


	10. The Wine Ghost's Tale Pt3

Chapter 10: pt 3

Chapter 10: pt 3

I didn't know where I was or where my shirt had gone. Abigail the bar wench was yapping as usual, going on about Lord-knows-what in that annoying reedy little voice.

She lifted my head slightly and poured some water into my mouth, spilling it all over me. I sputtered and angrily waved her off of me.

I was in one of the rooms over the town bar. I spotted my shirt and trousers folded neatly on a chair.

"It's about time you woke up!" Abigail huffed. "Goody Mores said that she'd kick you out if you stayed even one more night, and she didn't care if you were still out. And Simon Lemon said he needed you to help with patrols. And the Constable needs you to tell him the night your friend was killed by the beast. And Reverend Jerome wanted to tell you-"

"Enough already." I groaned as I pulled on my trousers. "It's all sort of muddled, I don't even know how I got here."

"You were carried. But everyone wants to know why you were covered in blood."

That's when it all came back tome, as horrible and real as if it were happening all over again.

"No! Don't throw up on the floor," Abigail screeched!

I coughed and spat the remaining bile onto the floor.

"My… my sister-?"

Abigail stopped complaining. The embarrassed silence was more painful than her uncaring chatter.

"They- they haven't found her. She disappeared the night you went out and all they found was a few scraps of clothing and some blood. They think the beast got her before it attacked you and the other one."

"My sister wasn't killed by any simple animal," I gave her a cold glare, "She was murdered by a monster.

…

Abigail, to her credit, let me rest for the remainder of the day before telling Master Lemon and the Constable that I had woken up. Time to grieve is a luxury rarely afforded to servants, and things had only gotten worse while I had been out.

Children had gone missing along with men, horses, and men on horses. The town spent each night as if under siege. I, and many others spent our nights standing guard around the edges of town. Even in daytime few were willing to leave their homes, and when they did, they did so in armed groups of three or four.

It was three nights after I awoke from my own terrifying adventure that the town leader discovered his youngest daughter was missing. An alarm was sounded; all able-bodied men were to comb the area for her. I was sent to fetch the preacher.

………

There was a light in the preacher's window, and I pounded on the door and called out to him. He gave no answer. I peered in the window. I could see a candle, still tall and fresh. He couldn't have gone far. I climbed through the open window.

I looked around. Everything seemed in its place. His cloak and hat hung by the door and a plate of untouched bread and cheese sat on the table. I heard a movement from below. I slowly approached the cellar door. No light shone from the slats of the door. I cautiously opened it and called out, half-expecting a lost raccoon to dart past me.

Instead the candlelight behind me illuminated the figure of the preacher, slicing open the stomach of the missing child.

I cried out in horror. He lurched his head up and the candlelight glinted in his eyes and gave them a hellish gleam. He violently tossed the girl's body aside and ran at me with his knife in hand. I turned quickly on my ankle and lurched for the door. He sprang up the staircase with incredible speed and caught me at the door. He dug his blade deep into my shoulder.

I gave a yelp and spun around. I punched him in the side of his face. It took him by surprise and we both tumbled to the floor.

The knife clattered next to us. I reached for it but he grabbed me around the throat and threw me aside with inhuman strength. He had the knife again in an instant and came at me again.

I kicked him in the stomach and made another go for the door. My shoulder was bleeding profusely and I slipped in my own puddle of blood. The preacher took advantage of my clumsiness and buried his knife deep into my calf.

I screamed in pain.

I heard the sound of many feet running in our direction.

The preacher was on my back, his knees pinned to my spine. I felt him rip the knife out of my leg.

Someone hollered outside. The preacher paused and two men broke open the door. The crowd tumbled into the cabin.

We were all frozen in shock and just stared stupidly at each other. The crowd at the blood-spattered preacher holding a knife over my head, and us at a good half of the town piled onto the doorstep.

After an endless moment the doctor shook of his shock, swung his musket, and knocked the knife out of the preacher's hand. The others poured the rest of the way into the cabin. Three men pulled the preacher off my back and another pair pulled me off the floor away from him.

"What happened? Why did he stab you? What's going on?" The questions came.

"The basement… I saw him killing her in the basement!" I wheezed. A pair of men with lanterns ran down the stairs. They shouted up the stairs in horror.

The town leader ran down there after them, and soon the sound of his sobs could be heard from the darkness below.

One of the men holding onto the preacher punched him in the face and shouted brutal insults.

The preacher did not say a word. He just smiled. He did not say a word or change in countenance when the townsfolk cried for his immediate lynching. He did not blink when the justice of the peace stopped them and demanded he be given a proper trial. His smile never wavered when the men gently carried the slaughtered girl's body up from the cellar or when the women cried out in anger and sorrow as he and the body were lead through the streets to the town hall.

I think he was laughing at us.

………..

(Author's note: It has been a full year since I originally outlined this chapter. I was on a bus to work in the Magic Kingdom when I outlined how the Wine Ghost, who I call "Gregory", discovered that the preacher was behind the brutal murders. Of course, between my writing it and the end of work, I was caught in a downpour and my words were washed away. Since then I lost interest in Lemon Tea. I even thought about just forgetting the whole project. But I'm back! I was goaded to take it up again by a short list of people on DA and FF who all asked if it would ever be finished. It would be rather rude to leave the project with so many things hanging in the air! What was I thinking? Sure, I know how the Wine Ghost's tale ends, but you guys don't! So here it is, the long awaited chapter Ten. Here's to hope chapter eleven won't take another year!)

((P.S. I hope you'll forgive any problems in the story flow. It HAS been a whole year since I've worked on the chapter.))


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